Except for New Hampshire, all states and the District of Columbia require adult front-seat occupants of motor vehicles to use seat belts. Adult rear-seat passengers are also covered by the laws in 31 states and the District of Columbia. Children are covered by separate laws.

State seat belt laws are divided into two categories: primary and secondary. Primary seat belt laws allow law enforcement officers to stop a motor vehicle and to issue a ticket or citation to a driver or passenger for not wearing a seat belt without any other traffic offense having occurred. Secondary seat belt laws only allow law enforcement officers to issue a ticket or citation for not wearing a seat belt when there has been another traffic offense by an occupant of the vehicle for which the occupant may be issued a ticket or citation.

In Oklahoma, seat belt use is mandated by law for all front-seat occupants of a motor vehicle, and this is enforced through a primary seat belt law. This means that law enforcement officers in Oklahoma have the authority to stop a vehicle and issue a citation to the driver or passengers for not wearing a seat belt even if no other traffic violation has occurred. For rear-seat passengers, Oklahoma does not currently require adults to wear seat belts, although this may vary for children as they are subject to separate child restraint laws. Oklahoma's seat belt laws are designed to promote safety on the roads and reduce the risk of injury or death in the event of an accident.